Offensive Coordinator Travis Switzer (9.10.26)
How do you feel like the execution, the efficiency out of the offense has improved over the last couple of weeks now that Deshaun (Watson)’s gotten the bulk of the ones.
“Yeah, I think we’ve improved dramatically in that area, and we’re going to continue to. The more familiarity the guys get with the things we’re doing, and our process as we get into real game week now, the more familiarity we have there, the better that’s going to continue to get.”
Travis, Todd (Monken) hasn’t really committed to a starter yet at right guard. He said he was leaning towards Teven (Jenkins) but he’d let the week play out. We saw Teven leave early in practice yesterday. If Austin (Barber) does get that starting job, what can you say about the progress he’s made, especially starting his rookie time at tackle and moving into guard over the past couple of weeks?
“Yeah, no, his development’s been impressive. It’s hard enough for a rookie to come in and play, let alone when he’s been at multiple spots. It’s all about the approach and the way he goes about it. I mean he’s wired the right way. He’s a very diligent guy, he’s very tough. So, we’re excited about him and his development.
What is it about him that allows him to move from outside on an island and go inside where it’s a little more compact?
“Yeah, I think it’s the mix of his size and his athleticism that allows him to be able to do both those things. And like I said, it’s hard enough for a rookie to come in and play, let alone at multiple spots. So, it’s been very impressive what he’s been able to show at both spots.”
What challenges does the Jacksonville defense present in the running game?
“Yeah, so they do a great job. First of all, they have a great front. They do a great job, they run to the ball. There’s a lot of things on tape where it feels like there should have been more yards, and there wasn’t, so that’s a credit to them and the way they run to the ball. We’re going to have to match that strain and finish, which we’ve been talking to our guys about. And then schematically, they do a good job mixing the looks up. They’re going to give you multiple fronts, mix in some pressures. There’s enough there from a multiplicity standpoint that you’ve got to be ready for.”
Going back to Austin really quickly. If he does end up starting on Sunday and it’s him and Spencer (Fano) and there’s two rookies out there, how confident are you guys that the moment wouldn’t be too big for them or anything like that?
“Yeah, no, we have all the confidence in the world in those guys. Like I said, it starts with the way that they’re both wired, which is very important. They go about it the right way. They’re both physical and tough. We’ve seen that from training camp. If you can block Maliek (Collins) and Jared (Verse), you’re going to be okay. And we’ve seen those things from those guys, and yeah, we’re very excited about them.”
Todd’s talked so much, especially throughout training camp, about figuring out what you guys do well on both sides of the ball, but obviously on offense as well. Now that you’ve had time to put certain things in place and figure out what you guys do well, what do you envision the identity of your offense to be?
“Yeah, the identity starts with the way that we play, and that’s what we’ve seen so far that’s very exciting. What I mean is just the intensity, the physicality, the finish, the convoy, getting guys chasing the ball, around the ball. And then from an operations standpoint is the other big piece of that. Being able to operate at a high level and relieve anxiety for the quarterback. As far as the schematic things, I mean those are always drawn in sand. They can change throughout the season based on what we’re seeing from our guys or what we’re getting from the defense. We want to be able to be multiple schematically so that we can take advantage of our guys’ skill sets, but at the same time be able to attack different defensive structures and what they’re doing.”
You’ve been around Todd for a while. What do you think it’s like for him approaching that first game as an NFL head coach?
“I would imagine it’s really exciting for him. He’s done it before, obviously, at Southern Miss, so there are some things he’ll talk about things like, ‘Oh yeah, I remember this from Southern Miss,’ and calling it on the field, those types of things that we’ve talked about. But yeah, I would imagine he’s very excited, and he should be.”
How does this role change specifically from last year with the Ravens to now that you’re here as the offensive coordinator?
“Yeah, there’s just more that you’re involved with now. Not that I wasn’t involved in some pass [game] with the Ravens a little bit, but that’s probably the biggest piece. You’re just involved in more of the pass game stuff and then putting it all together. We’re a collaborative game-plan coaching staff. We hear from almost everybody on staff, really, as far as their ideas and what they’d like to do. And then we have to sit together and try to put it together, combine ideas and make it fit, make it complementary, each week.”
What are you seeing from Deshaun Watson just in terms of maybe his increasing comfortability with his go-to guys, with the scheme, with the ability to extend plays with his legs and things like that? What are you guys seeing out there in practice?
“Yeah, we’re seeing what you said, just more comfortability with the guys that he’s out there with, and then also with what we’re doing. He repeats things in meetings, and it’s like, ‘Hey, you remember this?’ And there’s more recall now, which is good. That’s a good feeling, you feel like everybody’s kind of picking up what you’re putting down, as far as what you’re trying to do and where you’re attacking people. But yeah, the longer that he’s with us, he’s just going to keep getting more and more comfortable and more familiar with what we’re doing, and that’s going to be good for the whole operation.”
Jerry Jeudy is in kind of a different role than last year’s offense. Monken talked about moving him around a lot more. How has he taken to it?
“Yeah, I think he’s been great. You can’t get bent out of shape about what letter you are on the piece of paper. We’re going to move guys around. It doesn’t mean anything to us. We’re going to move guys around and put them in the best position for themselves to have success, and then also for our team to have success.”
You’ve got a quarterback run in your background, obviously Lamar (Jackson) is one of one. What’s your philosophy on how often you run the quarterback, while also trying to keep the quarterback healthy?
“Yeah, it’s a great question. Some of it depends on the game situation, who you’re playing, who they have out there, and how the game’s going. Sometimes you may have it up in certain situations, and how often you do it may depend on how often those situations come up. But yeah, there’s a lot of variables there. There’s been times where it’s not intentional, but a couple of them get called maybe in a row because they came up in situations. And then you’ve got to think about conditioning and all those things, like, ‘oh, he’s tired.’ But yeah, there’s a lot of variables that go into that, but it’s something we’re always thinking about, when it’s your quarterback.”
Do you think that needs to be part of your offense for it to be as successful as possible?
“Some weeks, yes. Yeah.”
Can Taylen Green be up for this game?
“I’ll let Monk (Todd Monken) talk about who’s going to be up. But yeah, he’s a quarterback on our roster, and it’s very well possible.”
In terms of the opportunity to do some cool things with him, again, I know you guys aren’t able to say whether or not he’ll be up, but as offensive coordinator, how excited do you get about some of the things he can do for you in short yardage, goal line, fourth-and-one and all that?
“Yeah, sure. He certainly has that skill set. We saw in the preseason what he was able to do when he got out and got outside the pocket and scrambled. You saw the speed when he gets into the open field. So yeah, there’s a lot of things about his skill set that are exciting for us.”
The Jaguars’ defensive coordinator worked under Brian Flores, Vic Fangio and he’s kind of taken elements of what they do into his defense. On the back end, what do you see and what kind of strain does that maybe put on the quarterback with pre and post snap?
“Yeah, they do, like I said, especially when you get into the passing downs, they do a really good job of mixing the looks up, whether it’s pressure, whether it’s simulated, whether they’re just rushing four and gaming up the front. They do a really good job of mixing up the looks in general, and the back end is certainly part of that.”
With exotic looks, how could you maybe use that against them and try to get them in positions where their communication or lack thereof works against them?
“Yeah, I mean there’s certain things you can do with motion, different cadences and things like that. But yeah, the biggest thing is, as long as we’re on the same page as an offense in how we’re doing it, if we’re all wrong, we’re right, in a lot of ways. So that’s really what we’ve been stressing, the communication piece, of all that with our guys, and being on the same page. And if we’re all on the same page, we’re going to have a chance.”
How much of a comfort level does it give you that when you’re going against a defense like this that’s going to show you multiple looks and do exotic things and change it up, that you have a veteran quarterback heading into it on the road, silent count, all that kind of stuff. What kind of comfort level does that give you to have Deshaun running the show in this game?
“No, certainly. I mean, it definitely does. He’s been around a long time, he’s seen a lot of things. They’re probably not going to show a whole lot of things that he hasn’t seen, or at least it’s in a world that he’s seen. So yeah, that’s a huge piece of it, and we feel good about that.”
During the offseason, we hear so much about growth development, especially from young guys. How much of the development process with players is on you guys as coaches versus the players themselves just putting in that work and how does that kind of continue once the season starts, when it’s more game-planning rather than working with them individually?
“The development never stops. Monk says this all the time. We’re in the development business, so it doesn’t matter. Yeah, we’re preparing for a game plan, but you’re still developing the skills. I mean, the plays are just plays. Everybody’s going to run a slant route, but it’s the technique and the development of the skills that go into the plays that really make them come to life. So, to answer your question, yeah, you’re going to have to spend time studying the game plan, of course, but the development of the skills, it never stops, and we’ll always keep striving for that. And it’s a two-way street. We’ve got to meet halfway, coach and player. There’s got to be great communication there, too. If the player needs something that he’s not getting, there has to be good communication there between the two of them. And there’s got to be a strong desire to want to develop, which we have here, which is very exciting.”
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